fully racey pea-gravel cushion.
However, he was clearly limited
by his still-mending knee and
spent the evening racing around
near the back of the field at an
event he had won the last two
times out.
Robinson, meanwhile, was in
peak form. He still looked like
the outright fastest man on the
circuit, registering blowout wins
in his semi and the Mission Chal-
lenge (squirrelling away a fourth
Bauman carried in a slim lead
in the points, but it felt like either
Robinson or Mees were primed
to seize control. At the end of the
night, however, the latest evolu-
tion of this constantly shifting
title fight saw the champ reassert
himself and do so in style.
Mees was quite simply a non-
factor—at least on track. He was
universally praised in his role as
race promoter; the event boasted
a massive crowd and a wonder-
FLAT TRACK
P82
PROGRESSIVE AMERICAN FL AT TRACK
ROUND 7 / JUNE 26, 2021
ALLEN COUNT Y FAIRGROUNDS / LIMA, OHIO
MYOWNRACE
68 RYAN VARNES
2ND PRODUCTION TWINS
A previously luckless Ryan Varnes looked
like his old self again at Lima. A er
comple ng a climb through the field
that ended up just 0.153 seconds short
of victory, he said, "We had a rough start
to the main. I think I was as far back as
10th at one point. I was kind of mad at
myself, but I put my head down and kept
charging. I tried to ride a consistent line
and the whole race I was ge ng blasted
[by the roost]. I just wanted to cry— it hurt
so bad. These leathers don't do too much
against that. I just kept pushing and got up
to fi h and then the red flag came out. I
knew I was faster than the guys in front of
me, and the red flag really helped me out.
I was driving it in harder than those guys
and started moving around looking for
another line. I went to the high line and
held it on. It was pulling really good off the
corners, and I almost pulled off the last
lap, last corner for the win. I thought we
had it, really. I just needed one more lap."
9 JARED MEES
8TH SUPERTWINS
Considering his track record at Lima, com-
bined with his performance last weekend
at OKC, Jared Mees was viewed as a favor-
ite to win the Lima Half-Mile event he and
